Tom Honey

The Canon Pastor of Exeter Cathedral, in the UK, is unafraid to take on some of religion's tougher issues.

Why you should listen

Tom Honey's appeal goes far beyond his own congregation. For years he was the vicar of the church in Oxford attended decades earlier by the Christian thinker C.S. Lewis. The Reverend Honey built a reputation there for thoughtful sermons that disdained cliche or easy answers. They were often willing to grapple with the darker side of life -- pain, loss, grief -- and the challenges these presented to the concept of a loving God.

These challenges were dramatically highlighted by the devastation of the Indian Ocean tsunami of late 2004 in which some 300,000 people died, making it one of the worst natural disasters in human history. The sermon penned by Honey shortly after was eloquent and powerful enough to win him an invitation to come speak at TED.

Tom Honey’s TED talk

Tom Honey on the TED Blog

It’s a classic problem in theology: How can the existence of evil be reconciled with a God who is supposed to be all-loving, all-knowing and all-powerful? Reverend Tom Honey attempts to answer this question in the wake of the tsunami. NEW: Read the transcript >> At a special bonus session, on the Thursday evening of […]